1. Field
The present invention relates to a structured illumination device and a structured illumination microscope device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the fields of observation and measurement of samples (specimens), structured illumination microscopes (SIM) have been proposed as one way of achieving resolutions that exceed the performance of objective lenses (see Patent Document 1: US Reissued Patent Application Publication No. 38307, for example). In a structured illumination microscope, the sample is illuminated with spatially modulated illumination light (structured illumination light) and an image (a modulated image) of the sample is captured. Then, the modulation components contained in the modulated image are removed (that is, the image is demodulated) in order to produce a super-resolution image (a demodulated image).
In the structured illumination microscope disclosed in the Patent Document 1 in particular, a light beam emitted from a light source is split into a plurality of light beams using a diffraction grating or the like. These light beams interfere in the area around the specimen, forming interference fringes which are used as the structured illumination light.